Locking mechanism for portable gate

ABSTRACT

A portable gate of a conventional extensible and collapsible type is provided with facilities to enable the gate to be installed quickly and securely. Pivoted locking bars for holding the gate extended are provided with interference structure that interengages during final swinging movement of the bars to force resilient bumpers into predetermined compression against the sidewalls that are bridged by the gate. Retainers on opposite ends of the gate engage floor anchors during final extension of the gate to provide vertical interlocks in accordance with an additional optional feature.

United States Patent 1 List [151 3,674,081 1451 July 4,1972

[21] Appl. No.: 878,866

[52] US. Cl ..160/161, 160/351 [51] Int. Cl ..E06b 9/08 [58] Field ofSearch ..160/136-164, 84,

160/350, 351, 373; 280/1, 34 A, 34 C, 35, 36 A,

2,542,156 2/1951 Nightingale ..160/161 3,145,766 8/1964 Wickham et al...160/136 X 3,148,725 9/1964 McPhaden ..160/161 Primary Examiner-PeterM. Caun Attorney-E. Manning Giles, J. Patrick Cagney and Peter S.Lucyshyn [57] ABSTRACT A portable gate of a conventional extensible andcollapsible type is provided with facilities to enable-the gate to beinstalled quickly and securely. Pivoted locking bars for holding thegate extended are provided with interference structure that interengagesduring final swinging movement of the bars to force resilient bumpersinto predetermined compression against the sidewalls that are bridged bythe gate. Retainers on [56] References C'ted opposite ends of the gateengage floor anchors during final ex- UNITED STATES PATENTS tension ofthe gate to provide vertical interlocks in accordance with an additionaloptional feature. 684,130 l0/l90l Taubert ..160/373 X 2,486,170 10/1949Kavanaugh ..160/136 X 3 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures Hulda-1+. "Him in l ll u l 1 n J i a! A (A A-XQ/k PATENTEDJUM I972 3,674.08 1

sum 2 or a FIG. 2

WVVENTOR Herbert A. List ATTY.

P A TE N TED JUL 4 I972 SHEET 30F 3 FIG. 6

FIG. 3

INVENTOR Herbert A. List ATT).

LOCKING MECHANISM FOR PORTABLE GATE The present invention relates toportable gates of an extensible and collapsible type that may be-usedfor temporarily blocking access to a corridor or hallway by directengagement with the sidewalls of the building.

Portable gates of this general type utilize a set of vertical supportposts carried on movable base carriages and interconnected by extensibleand collapsible lazy tongs. Locking bars are utilized to hold the gateextended. For various reasons it has been necessary to provide specialfittings in the floor for positively anchoring such portable gates.

The present invention provides a simplified arrangement for enabling thegate to be installed quickly and securely with or without floor anchors.

In accordance with the invention, resilient bumpers are provided toengage the side walls and interference structures are actuated duringfinal swinging movement of the locking bars to create final endwiseextension of the gate for compressing the bumpers into stable grippingengagement with the side walls.

In the disclosed embodiment, the interference structures are comprisedof a set of interference holes in one locking bar and an interferencepin in the other bar to engage in one of the holes, in accordance withthe extension width of the gate, as the bars are forced through finalswinging movement to cause the interference action to produce apredetermined final extension of the gate in accordance with the size ofthe hole that receives the interference pin. The bumpers are selected tocompress sufficiently to accommodate the final extension travel.

The invention provides, as an additional option, a simplified flooranchor arrangement that may be permanently installed to be engagedduring such final extension travel to create a vertical interlock thatreinforces the secure mounting of the gate.

Other features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from thefollowing description and claims and are illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings which show structure embodying preferred features of thepresent invention and the principles thereof, and what is now consideredto be the best mode in which to apply these principles.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The features of this invention whichare believed to be novel are set forth with particularity in theappended claims. The invention, together with further features andadvantagesthereof, may best be understood, however, by reference to thefollowing description taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings wherein like numerals identify like elements and in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective front view of a portable gate constructed inaccordance with the principles of the present invention, the gage beingshown extended and locked in place;

FIG. 2 is a rear perspective view of the gate, the gate being showncollapsed;

FIG. 3 is a front elevational view of the gate, with some parts brokenaway and other parts eliminated the gate being shown in an intermediateextended position to illustrate the manner of installing the gate;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary view showing the intersection of thelocking bars and the initial engagement of interference structures onthe locking bars for causing final extension thereof;

FIG. 5 is a side elevational view of the gate'in its extendedconfiguration; and

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary perspective view showing an end post basecarriage moving into vertical interlock with an anchor bolt during finalextension of the gate by the interference action of the locking bars.

Referring now to the drawings, a preferred embodiment of a portable gate10 is shown for temporarily blocking access to a hallway or corridor.The gate 10 in accordance with this invention is extensible intopressure contact with the opposed sidewalls 12, 14 of the corridor andnormally is supported directly upon the floor 15.

As is typical of portable gate arrangements of this general type thegate is normally collapsed as shown in FIG. 2 for convenient storage andit is extensible to provide a barrier 16 as shown in FIG. 1, suchextension being variable to provide an adjustable width barrier that isadaptable to a number of different mounting locations.

In the illustrated embodiment, the gate typically includes a set ofvertical support posts 18, 18' and lazy tongs 20 connected betweenadjacent posts 18 to control extension and collapse of the gate. Wheeledbase carriages 22, 22C, 22E, 22F are provided to support the end posts18' and certain of the intermediate posts 18, the base carriagesreceiving the posts substantially centrally and projecting fore and aftof the barrier to afford desired stability. Caster wheels 24 are shownat the extreme ends of the base carriages. The preferred constructionfor the gate utilizes for each vertical post a fore and aft spaced pairof cold rolled flat steel bars 18A, 18B interconnected by rivets 19which serve to mount the pivoted ends of the lazy tongs. The bars 18A,18B are also interconnected adjacent their top and bottom ends. Thefloating ends 21 of the lattice bars are pivoted together and providedwith nylon rollers for guiding vertical movement of the floating ends 21during extension and collapse of the gate.

Channel-shaped locking bars 26 and 28 are pivotally connected to theleft and right end post base carriages 22E, 22F respectively as shown inFIGS. 1 and 3. Locking bar 26 is pivotally connected to the basecarriage 22E by a hinge 30 and locking bar 28 is similarly connected tothe base carriage 22F by a hinge 32.

In the gate-extended position as shown in FIG. 1, the locking bars 26,28 are horizontal and are nested in generally U-shaped guides 36, 36C onthe intermediate base carriages. The free end of bar 26 is shown nestedwithin the free end of locking bar 28. The central base carriage 22C isprovided with the guide 36C which includes a conventional hinged latchand lock receiving ring to hold the overlapping free ends of the bars 26and 28 securely in place. A padlock 38 is shown for locking the bars 26and 28 down.

Additional details of the gate 10 are shown in FIG. 2. A rodlike brace34 is shown attached the rear end of each base carriage and toapproximately the mid-height region of each corresponding vertical post.The locking bars 26, 28 extend vertically in the gate-collapsed positionto run along the front of the corresponding end post. A loop latch 39 isprovided at the top of each end post to secure the locking bars invertical position. Finally, several of the base carriages are providedwith U- shaped guides 40 for receiving a channel-shaped storage tieconnected by a hinge 52 to the end post base carriage 22F and spanningthe collapsed width of the gate. The tie 50 has spaced holes 55 (SeeFIG. 5) to engage upstanding pins 54 (See FIG. 2) provided centrallywithin the U-shaped guides 40. When the gate is to be extended, the tie50 is swung to the vertical position shown in FIG. 5 and is retained bya loop latch 56.

In accordance with the present invention, a set of resilient bumpersaremounted to project endwise outwardly along the end post basecarriages 22E, 22F for side wall contact and the locking bars 26, 28 areprovided with interference means that interengage as the locking barsare swung into intersecting relation as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 to imparta predetermined final extension travel that compresses the bumpersagainst the side walls 12, 14. In the illustrated embodiment the lockingbar 26 which is shown as a U-channel is provided with a set of holes 27spaced along its base wall and the locking bar 28 is provided with anupstanding pin 29 for entry into any one of the holes 27 in accordancewith the degree of pressure to be placed against the end bumpers 60.

In accordance with another feature of the invention, each of the endpost base carriages 22E, 22F is provided with a retainer having anopen-ended slot 71 for lateral reception of a headed floor anchor 72.The anchor 72 is shown in FIG. 6

as a floor bolt which may either be removable or captively mounted in apermanent floor socket. :The anchors are located adjacent the side wallsand are provided with head slots 73 to allow the bolt to be seated flushwith the floor when not in use. The retainer 70 is shown as a hollowtube of triangular section and is fixed centrally along the underside ofits base carriage, with the slot 71 opening outwardly to receive theshank of the anchor bolt and enable the bolt head to enter within theretainer and establish a vertical interlock therewith. The triangularform of the retainer 70 prevents any possibility of the bolt 72 beingremoved when the gate is extended and locked V in place.

The function of the interference action of the locking bars is to enablethe portable gates to be installed quickly and secure .ly with orwithout the floor anchors. To install the unit, the

gate is extended full width between the side wallsso that the bumpers 60are in actual contact with the side walls as shown in FIG. 3. Thelocking bars which are normally stored in vertical position are thenswung to the intersecting relation shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 so that theinterference pin 20 may enter the interference hole 27 which is mostconveniently available. This relationship depends upon the degree ofextension of the gate and thus is detennined by the spacing of the sidewalls l2, 14. The length of the interference pin 60 is selected so thatin the typical case, the point of intersection and of initial pin entryoccurs about 6 inches above the final horizontal position for thelocking bars. After the pin is engaged, the locking bars 26,28 aremanually forced downwardly from the intersecting position of FIG. 3 tothe final gate-extended position of FIG. 1. The interference actionbetween the locking bars during this final forced swinging movementcauses a final extension of the gate which loads the bumpers 60 intocompressed contact with the side walls. The final travel imparted by theinterference action is taken up by the compression of the bumpers 60.The locking bars 26, 28 are stable in the final horizontal position ofFIG. I and the lock 38 is applied to prevent tampering.

Where the floor anchors 72 are provided the gate when arranged in theFIG. 3 position is positioned to align the retainer slots 71 with theanchors 72. Depending on the spacing of the anchors 72 from the sidewalls the slots may partly lap the anchors when the gate is in the FIG.3 position. In any case, the final travel of the base carriages due tothe interference action of the locking bars 26, 28 produces fullinsertion of the retainers 70 upon the anchors. The retainer slots 71are sized to allow full entry of the anchors with some additionalclearance in order to insure that the interference action is taken onlyby the bumpers and not by the anchors.

Typical dimensions for the illustrated gate are: height 6% feet, width,extended, 7 feet to 12 feet, contracted 24 inches, depth: 30 inches. Themain framing is 2% by 1 inch, gauge cold rolled flat steel channels.Cold rolled flat steel is employed for the lazy tongs 20 and 15/ l 6inch steel tubing is used for the braces 10. Hard rubber is employed forthe bumpers 60. With conventional modification, gates accommodating, forexample, 6 to 9 feet, 1 l to 15 feet and 13 to 18 feet can be provided.The stated dimensions and specifications are for purposes of example andcompleteness but not for the purpose of limiting the invention.

A new and improved portable gate has been disclosed that may easily andquickly be set up and taken down without need for special tools orextensive installation. Except for the optional anchor bolt feature, nopermanently installed hardware is needed at all. The gate may be used atnumerous difierent locations at different times, as it is adaptable to arange of opening widths. In addition, the gate is easily retracted toits What I claim is:

1. In a portable gate arrangement for temporarily closing an openingbetween spaced side walls, said arrangement having a set of verticalsupport posts including apair of end posts and at least one intermediatepost, separate movable base carriages supporting each of said end postsand said one intermediate post, extensible and collapsible lazy tongsconnecting adjacent posts of said set, and a pair of locking barsswingably mounted to opposite ends of said gate to move between agenerally upright gate-collapsed position wherein each locking barextends alongside the corresponding end post and a horizontalgate-extended position wherein the locking bars have overlapping freeends overlying the base carriage of said one intermediate post, theimprovement comprising bumper means on the gate facing endwise outwardlythereof for engaging the side walls and cooperating interference meansinterengageable when said locking bars intersect at intermediate swingpositions thereof to create predetermined relative endwise extensiontravel of the locking bars during final swinging movement to thehorizontal gate-extended position to compress said bumper means againstsaid side walls, said arrangement including stationary anchors in floorregions adjacent the side walls and each end of the gate includesretainer structure engageable in vertically interlocking relation withsaid anchors in response to outward extension of the gate.

2. In a portable gate arrangement for temporarily closing an openingbetween spaced side walls, said arrangement having a set of verticalsupport posts including a pair of end posts and several intermediateposts, separate movable base carriages supporting each of the end postsand each of the intermediate posts extensible and collapsible lazy tongsconnecting adjacent posts of said set, and a pair of locking barsswingably mounted to the end post base carriages to move between agenerally upright gate-collapsed position wherein each locking barextends alongside the corresponding end post and a horizontal gateextended position wherein the locking bars have overlapping free endssupported upon the base carriages of said intermediate posts, theimprovement comprising resilient bumper means facing endwise outwardlyon each of said end post base carriages for engaging the side walls andcooperating interference means on the free ends of said locking bars forinterengagement when said locking bars intersect at intermediate swingpositions thereof to create predetermined relative endwise extensiontravel of the locking bars during final swinging movement to thehorizontal gate-extended position whereby said end post base carriagesmove outwardly to compress said bumper means against said side walls tothe extent determined by said travel, said arrangement includingstationary anchors in floor regions adjacent the side walls and each ofthe end post base carriages includes retainer structure engageable invertically interlocking relation with said anchors in response tooutward shifting of said end post base carriages due to theinterengagement action of said interference means. I

3. In a portable gate arrangement as defined in claim 2 wherein each ofsaid anchors includes an upstanding shank terminating in an enlargedhead and each of said retainers has an endwise open slot to receive theshank and engage in vertical interlock beneath the head.

1. In a portable gate arrangement for temporarily closing an openingbetween spaced side walls, said arrangement having a set of verticalsupport posts including a pair of end posts and at least oneintermediate post, separate movable base carriages supporting each ofsaid end posts and said one intermediate post, extensible andcollapsible lazy tongs connecting adjacent posts of said set, and a pairof locking bars swingably mounted to opposite ends of said gate to movebetween a generally upright gate-collapsed position wherein each lockingbar extends alongside the corresponding end post and a horizontalgateextended position wherein the locking bars have overlapping freeends overlying the base carriage of said one intermediate post, theimprovement comprising bumper means on the gate facing endwise outwardlythereof for engaging the side walls and cooperating interference meansinterengageable when said locking bars intersect at intermediate swingpositions thereof to create predetermined relative endwise extensiontravel of the locking bars during final swinging movement to thehorizontal gateextended position to compress said bumper means againstsaid side walls, said arrangement including stationary anchors in floorregions adjacent the side walls and each end of the gate includesretainer structure engageable in vertically interlocking relation withsaid anchors in response to outward extension of the gate.
 2. In aportable gate arrangement for temporarily closing an opening betweenspaced side walls, said arrangement having a set of vertical supportposts including a pair of end posts and several intermediate posts,separate movable base carriages supporting each of the end posts andeach of the intermediate posts extensible and collapsible lazy tongsconnecting adjacent posts of said set, and a pair of locking barsswingably mounted to the end post base carriages to move between agenerally upright gate-collapsed position wherein each locking barextends alongside the corresponding end post and a horizontal gateextended position wherein the locking bars have overlapping free endssupported upon the base carriages of said intermediate posts, theimprovement comprising resilient bumper means facing endwise outwardlyon eacH of said end post base carriages for engaging the side walls andcooperating interference means on the free ends of said locking bars forinterengagement when said locking bars intersect at intermediate swingpositions thereof to create predetermined relative endwise extensiontravel of the locking bars during final swinging movement to thehorizontal gate-extended position whereby said end post base carriagesmove outwardly to compress said bumper means against said side walls tothe extent determined by said travel, said arrangement includingstationary anchors in floor regions adjacent the side walls and each ofthe end post base carriages includes retainer structure engageable invertically interlocking relation with said anchors in response tooutward shifting of said end post base carriages due to theinterengagement action of said interference means.
 3. In a portable gatearrangement as defined in claim 2 wherein each of said anchors includesan upstanding shank terminating in an enlarged head and each of saidretainers has an endwise open slot to receive the shank and engage invertical interlock beneath the head.